3 Reasons to Play Music During Celebration of Life Service (2024)

FAQs

3 Reasons to Play Music During Celebration of Life Service? ›

Music is an integral part of life for many people, and a celebration of life service is the perfect event in which to showcase the meaningful music of your loved one's life. If planning for snacks or refreshments, plan to enjoy your loved one's favorite dishes or treats.

Music is an integral part of life for many people, and a celebration of life service is the perfect event in which to showcase the meaningful music of your loved one's life. If planning for snacks or refreshments, plan to enjoy your loved one's favorite dishes or treats.

At the funeral, music is one way that we let friends and family know that their normal and necessary emotions of grief, which music tends to draw forth, are welcome. Music is also a universal, unifying medium that joins mourners and speaks for them when words are inadequate.

Music can be one of the most powerful parts of a funeral or memorial service and plays a key role in giving a loved one a proper, final farewell.

Whether it's a joyous wedding celebration, a lively festival, or a religious ceremony, music plays a vital role in enhancing social gatherings and celebrations. It has the power to uplift our spirits, evoke emotions, and create a sense of unity among people.

Music is an important part of a Celebration of Life

This will allow you to honor the deceased's personality and share the good memories you have. You can also include a song that celebrates the good memories you had with them.

Play soft music, if helpful

Some dying patients respond well to soft background music, which can enhance relaxation and ease anxiety.

Music can help people cope with grief in a variety of ways. It can help create connection with a deceased loved one. It can help those grieving to explore spirituality (hope and meaning in life) and deal with challenging emotions.

Typically people will pick a song for the arrival at the service location, one for reflection during the service, and one for the way out. However, there's no rule that says a funeral ceremony has to include any spoken words. The music can say it all.

Who plays music at a funeral? ›

Live music is often performed at funerals by instrumentalists, pianists, or singers. If you are choosing a musician, make sure that he or she appreciated both the style and instrument of the musician. Music is usually a highlight of funerals and memorial services.

A dirge (Latin: dirige, nenia) is a somber song or lament expressing mourning or grief, such as would be appropriate for performance at a funeral. Often taking the form of a brief hymn, dirges are typically shorter and less meditative than elegies.

Singing together provides a collective activity that can help mourners at a funeral feel a connection with other mourners and a sense of shared, rather than individual, mourning (DeNora, 2000).

A traditional funeral may have funeral hymns and somber songs, but a celebration of life may include your loved one's favorite genre or artists, whether that's uplifting pop, power ballads or old-school R&B.

Music as a Tool of Remembrance and Tribute

Songs played at funerals often hold a deep, personal resonance with the departed, reflecting their tastes, personality, or life story. It's a chance for mourners to remember the deceased through the lens of music that was meaningful to them.

Songs sung at funerals and during the mourning period have been used for centuries as a way for the living to express their grief for the person who has died.

That said, the celebration of life etiquette and order of events is unique and you will likely see something quite different from the typical funeral or memorial services. You are expected to dress casually, bring a gift or two, participate in bonding activities, and raise your glass in a toast to the dearly departed.

A traditional funeral may have funeral hymns and somber songs, but a celebration of life may include your loved one's favorite genre or artists, whether that's uplifting pop, power ballads or old-school R&B.

Bring flowers, bring a plant, offer to help the family keep up the grave site by pulling weeds, or watering the plants and keeping things tidy. Write a prayer and create memorial cards with it and share it with their family and loved ones.

If your loved one enjoyed a chilled vodka martini or had a favorite beer, serving alcohol at the memorial service or celebration of life can be a way to honor their memory. You can include their favorite co*cktail in your drink offerings (perhaps with a non-alcoholic option).